What Do Audiences Want in a Stage Mag?

Launched in mid-November last year, in the last 4 months we have already seen over 800 Stage Mags created. Not sure what Stage Mag is? It is a new, fully-customizable digital show program available from BroadwayWorld. Not only does this offer your audiences the comfort of a digital program built to be viewed on their phones, this offers you the opportunity to collect additional data points on your audience as a whole, not just on the primary ticket buyers. With email capture options, integrated ecommerce capabilities, and click data on any advertisements placed in the program, you'll be able to learn even more about your audience, and engage with them in new ways. Since launch, we've continued to update and roll out new features based on input from audiences and producers alike - you can see the full list here.

But what types of information do audiences want in their Stage Mag? With the digital format alleviating concerns about printing costs, and the new tools that makes available to you, you are more empowered than ever to produce a program for your show that offers another way to plus your audiences experience, whether the performance is taking place online, outdoors, or back inside your regular venue. In the recent rounds of our audience survey, we've been asking our audience what features they'd like to see in a Stage Mag. Below, we've got a roundup of some of the most popular features.

Ready to build your own Stage Mag? Click here to get started. Have questions? Check out our webinar on March 31 all about building your Stage Mag.

The Usual Suspects

Unsurprisingly, one of the most common answers to the question was that people want to know who is who and more about the performers, technicians, and designers who are working on the production. While this should come as no surprise, and one would assume was already included in your show program, with Stage Mag you're able to go even further in introducing your artists to your audience. To name a few features, you can offer longer bios to each member of the team without a limit on word count that can really drive up printing costs. Those who want to share their social media handles and websites can not only include those, but they can be directly linked to allow audiences the opportunity to quickly follow their favorite new artists. Other features that we'll get into in a moment allow for further introduction, but your administration of building and collecting bios is also easier with Stage Mag - you can send a form to the members of the company that will allow them to submit directly into the Stage Mag - no more need to copy and paste or retype every bio that goes into the program.

Behind the Scenes Stories

With the all digital format, you can provide behind the scenes content as it happens. Did you have an actor do a takeover of your Instagram on Opening Night? Drop it into your program for the rest of the run. Not only is this something that audiences appreciate as they're waiting for the show, but with the ability to get the Stage Mag in their hands before they've entered the theatre, they can look at the backstage and behind the scenes information to get excited. Or on the other side of it, this can serve as an additional touch point with the audience as they go back to the Stage Mag after the show to take a look at that behind the scenes footage, and answer for themselves how you pulled off the on-stage magic they witnessed.

A Little Bit of History

Audiences requested history in a few different forms - they wanted a history of the show itself - a great place to put to use any of the dramaturgical information that your team put together (or you could even use Stage Mag to build a secondary educational/background packet in the digital world). In addition to the production history, there was also reported interest in venue and company history as well. This is another great spot where you can create a new touchpoint with your audience, reminding them of your long history in the community, the great work you've done in the past, and, as we'll talk about in a moment - the exciting things coming up in your future.

Integrated eCommerce

Whether you want to offer show or company specific merchandise, extend an offer from your sponsors and advertisers, or sell tickets to the next production, Stage Mag allows you to integrate ecommerce into the experience for your audiences. One of the challenges of any marketing offer is the number of steps it takes from getting the consumers attention to the time when they complete the transaction, and with audience members on their phone, they can click directly through from the Stage Mag to take advantage of whatever offer has caught their attention - and the data side of Stage Mag will help you know what offers are really driving clickthroughs within the program. Here as well is another spot where you can take advantage of Stage Mag's ability to get you data and a touch point with your audience as a whole, and not just ticket buyers. Someone who was invited to the show by a friend can make their purchase to return to the show right from the program, making that ambassador marketing even more likely to help grow your audience.

There's So Much to be Done with Stage Mag

These are only a few of the great ways you can utilize Stage Mag for your organization. With over 800 created in the first few months of the launch, our users and their audiences continue to develop new best practices every day - and we are always open to hearing about new features that you want as either an audience member or producer.

On March 31st, we'll be holding a webinar all about Stage Mag, taking you through the process of building your own, showing you all the bells and whistles, and answering any questions you may still have about the new program and how you can utilize it at your organization. Check out the full description below and be sure to reserve your space!

The Ins and Outs of BroadwayWorld Stage Mag - 3/31 - 3 PM ET

Stage Mag is BroadwayWorld's free (and easy-to-use) solution to building a digital program - and this month we'll be joined by Senior Managing Editor Nicole Rosky to walk you through making your own Stage Mag step by step. Recently, Stage Mag has been utilized for Disney's Women's Day on Broadway and the 75th Birthday Celebration for Liza Minnelli. The traditional show program has been rethought to provide easier setup, efficiently collect whole audience data (moving beyond just data on the primary ticket buyer), and interactive features - including countdown clocks, clickable ads, video covers, and more! All of that along with an easy to use design template that offers you both a printable PDF and a mobile friendly responsive display, audiences will love their Stage Mag for both digital presentations and when they make their return to your seats.

Register here to join us on Wednesday, March 31 at 3pm Eastern to see how easily you can build your own Stage Mag!

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